Clutch.



W. W. PRATHER.

CLUTCH.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 3, 1910.

Patented July 26, 1910.

Inventor? wi/Lbar Z0 Pratherz' witness s;

' CLUTCH.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July as, rain.

Application filed January 3, 1910. Serial No. 536,022.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILBUR W. PRATHER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Adams Springs, in the county of Lake and State ofCalifornia, have invented new and useful Improvements in Clutches, ofwhich the following is a specification.

This invention relates to clutches and is particularly applicable whenused as a part of the mechanism of automobiles or similar vehicles.

The object of the invention is to produce a clutch of pneumatic typewhich can be nicely controlled and which can be operated in a specialmanner from an air reservoir to start the engine, and which is soconnected with the air-reservoir that it will perform the functions ofan air compressor and a brake when desired. In addition to this theclutch may be operated so as to drive the automobile independently ofthe engine. In

this connection it is particularly useful for shifting an automobileabout in a garage or for moving it a short distance under similarcircumstances.

The invention consists in the construction and combination of parts tobe more fully described hereinafter and particularly set forth in theclaims.

In the annexed drawing which fully illustrates my invention, Figure 1 isa side elevation and partial section of a clutch constructed accordingto my. invention and showing the connections from the clutch to theair-reservoir. Fig. 2 is a vertical section taken on the line 22' ofFig. 1 and further illustrating details of the construction. Fig. 3 is atransverse section taken through the body of the clutch and furtherillustrating its construction. Fig. 1 is a section taken on v the line4-4 of Fig. 3 and particularly illustrating the manner in which theclutch is packed against leakage at certain points.

Referring more particularly to the parts, 5 represents the engine shaftor driving shaft from which the clutch transmits the power to a drivenshaft 6. The clutch comprises a driving member 7 which is formed with ahub 8 rigidly attached to the shaft 5 as shown. In order to secure thishub firmly on the shaft, I provide a hub nut 9 as indicated, whichscrews on to the end of the shaft seating upon a washer 10 which retainsthe hub, as will be readily understood. The clutch member .7 is in theform of a Wheel and presents a cylindrical rim 11.

plate 13 which has a central opening receiving the tubular neck 12, theouter edge of said plate being secured to the rim 11, as indicated. Thatpart of the neck 12 which is disposed in the interior of the clutch isof increased thickness as shown, so that a shoulder 14: is formed,against which the inner portion of the plate 13 seats as shown.

The neck 12 within the interior of the clutch is formed integral with adrum 15, said drum having a cylindrical'rim 16 which is connected withthe neck 12 by radial posts 17, as indicated. It should be understoodthat the neck 12 constitutes the hub for this drum 15. The posts 17 arecut awayjon their interior to form radial guides 18 for piston-blades orheads 19, and in the interior of the guide-openings springs 20 are received, the outer ends of which are received in spring sockets 21 formedin the inner edges of the heads or blades 19. In this 1 I way thepiston-blades are forced outwardly so that their outer edgesareconstantly held against the inner face of the rim 11 of the drivenmember of the clutch. In order to pack these piston-guides and take upwear they are preferably formed in two sections 22 having a tongue andgroove connectlon 23 therebetween, as shown in Fig. 4, and one of thesections 22 is 1 formed. with spring pockets 24: receiving springs 25which tend to spread the sections 22 apart. In this way the side edgesof the piston-blades are held tightly against the heads of the clutch.

Referring especially to Fig. 3, it will be seen that the rim-11throughout nearly its entire circumference is of uniform thickness so asto form an abutment 26 project-- ing into an air chamber 27 which isformed within the clutch. This abutment presents inclined faces 28 and29 which merge gradually from the'normal radius of the rim 11 i to theradius oflthe inner face 30 of the abutment. In this Way the abutment 26presents a short concave face which fits' nicely on the curved outerface of the drum 15. In the abutment 26, passages 31 and 32 are formedwhich lead inwardly from ports .33, and the duct 37 is connected-by apipe connection 39 with the port 34. The duct 36 emerges on the surfaceof the sleeve 35 at a port 40, and the duct 37 emerges at a similar port41. Over these ports 40 and 41 two stufiing box rings 42 and 42 arereceived, said rings having annular grooves 43 on their inner faceswh-ich seat over the ports respectively, as shown. The ends of theserings 42 and 42 are counter-bored so asto receive stufling box glands 44as indicated very clearly in Fig. 1. These stuifing box glands areadapted to be adjusted into a packing space 45 so as to pack the rings42 and 42 against leakage as will be readily .understood. The annulargroove 40 of the ring 421 is in communication with an airpipe 46, andthis air-pipe 46 is provided with branch-pipes 47 and 48 as shown. Thepipe 47 is provided with a check valve 49 which, opens in a directionwhich will permit air to pass from the sleeve back toward an airreservoir 50 to which the end of the pipe 46 is attached. The otherbranch-pipe 48 is provided with a three-way cock 51 which has a mouth 52which may be opened to the atmosphere. A second air-pipe 53' is 1provided which connects with the annular groove 43 of the sleeve 42',and this pipe 53 connects with the pipe 46beyond the branch-pipes 47 and48. Inthe pipe 53 is provided a three-way cock 54 whi ch has a mouth 55open to the atmosphere, as will be readily un erstood.

On the outer face of the rim 11 a brake band 56 is placed which isadapted to be drawn tight upon the clutch by means of a lever 57 havinga link 58 connected to one end of the band, the other end of the bandbeing connected'by an anchor-link 59 with a bracket 60 upon which thelever 57 is mounted. The lever v57 may be operated by a draw-rod 61, aswill be readily understood;

The mode of operation of the clutch will now be described.

' When" the vehicle is running at uniform speed and running on theclutch,- that is,

without any slip taking place between the drlven member andthe drivingmember of the clutch, the three-way ,cock 54will be open to theatmosphere and the three-way cock 51 will be closed, the-direction ofrotation'of the engine being indicated by the arrows in Figs. 1 and 3.This will tend to. produce a compression between the abutment 26 and theadjacent blade 19 just in advance of the abutment with respect to thedirection of rotation, and through the compression of the air in thechamber 27 operating on this adjacent blade, the tubular neck 12 will berotated and the rotation transmitted to the shaft 6.

In using the clutch as a starting device for a gas engine, the three-waycock 54 should be open to the air reservoir, and the three-way cook 51should be open to the atmosphere from the sleeve. Under thesecircumstances, air under pressure from the reservoir 50 will flowthrough the pipe 53 to the duct 37 and the ort 34 to the passage 29. Atthe right of the abutment 26 as viewed in Fig. 3, the compressed aircoming into the chamber 27 on this side of the abutment will tend torotate the driving member of the clutch in the direction indicated bythe arrows, that is, in the forward direction for the engine shaft 5. Inthis connection it should be understood that the drum 15 will besubstantially stationary, as it is connected with the driven shaft 6which extends rearwardly to the driving Wheels of the motor car. Byapplying the brakes of the motor car this shaft 6 can be held rigiduntil the engine commences to drive itself under the action of theexplosive charges. The fact that the three-way cook 51 is open to theatmosphere permits the free exhaust of the air from the clutch chamberafter it has done its work in expanding. In this Way the clutch is madeto operate temporarily as a rotary device.

In order to shift the car or automobile by means of the clutch, thebrake-band is tightened on the clutch and the three-way cook 51 isopened to the reservoir, while the three-way cook 54 opens duct 37 tothe atmosphere. This will admit compressed air from the reservoir 50throu h the port 33 to the air chamber 27 at the le side, as viewed inFig. 3'. This, will rotate the drum 15 and the driven shaft 6 in aforward direction so as to advance the vehicle. If it'is desired toshift the vehicle in the other direction, the condition of the three-waycocks 51 and 54 is reversed, while the brake band is held ap plied. Theapplication-of the brake band as described holds the normal drivingmember of'the clutch fixed-so that the compressed air reacts against theabutment in rotating the drum.

Wlien it is desired to compress air in the clutch and force the same.into the air reservoir 50, this is accomplished by opening three-waycock54 to the atmosphereso as to admit free air to duct 37,.and closingthreeway cock 51. In this condition of the threeway cooks, thecompressed air can onlyv pass in the pipe 46 by way of the check valve49.

The gasolene engine driving-shaft 5 is then driven in a forwarddirection and as it rotates, the air in the chamber 27 is compressed bythe piston blades, passing out of the chamber 27 through the passage 31and port 33, and thence through the sleeve 42 and the check valve 49 tothe reservoir.

It should be understood that the clutch can be made to operate as abrake by throwing it into operation as suggested, as a compressor, but,if it is not desired to use the air compressed in the clutch whenused asa brake for the engine, the three-way cock 51 may be partially opened tothe atmosphere, so as to give a restricted outlet for the compressedair. Of course if, under these circumstances, the pressure of the aircompressed in the chamber 27 should rise dangerously high, it would passthrough the check valve 29 into the reservoir,

Special attention is called to the construction of the driving clutchmember andparticularly to the feature of giving the rim 11 thereof auniform radius throughout the principal portion of its circumference. Byadopting this arrangement it will be seen that when the piston-blades 19are sliding in or out they are not subjected to the air pressure. This Iregard as a valuable fea ture because the piston-blades are not thensubjected to the high frictional resistance which would otherwise occurand which would resist their sliding in and out in passing the abutment26. This effect of course is produced by extending the passages 31 and32 beyond the abutment so that they open out on the inner side of therim 11 at a point where-the rim has its uniform radius. v

- Attention is called to the fact that with the construction of theclutch illustrated, there are no parts mounted on the engine shaft 5 andthis enables my invention to be applied to automobile engines withoutrequiring changes in the design of the engine or fly wheel to adapt themfor using my clutch.

The fact that the clutch can be used as a combination, a driving shaft,a driven shaft in alinement therewith, one of said shafts having aclutch member inclosing an air chamber, the other of said shafts'havin adrum attached thereto within said cha'm er .and constituting a secondclutch member,

said firstclutch member having an abutment cooperating with said drum,blades carried by said drum and projecting into said air chamber, areservoir, ports adapted to admit airto said air chamber on either sideof said abutment, said ports being constantly opened, and means removedfrom said clutch members for controlling the flow of fluid from saidreservoir to said ports.

2. In combination, a driven shaft, a drum carried thereby, a drivingshaft in alinement with said driven shaft, a wheel attached thereto andhaving an air chamber receiving n said drum, said wheel having anabutment engaging the face of said drum, piston blades guided radiallyin said drum and obstructing said air chamber, said wheel having portstherein adapted to admit air on either side of said abutment into saidair chamber, a sleeve loosely mounted ,on said driven shaft and having apair of ducts extending longitudinally therein, means for connectingsaid ducts respectively with said ports, said ducts having port openingson the outer face of said sleeve, stuffing box rings enveloping saidsleeve at said port openings, an air reservoir, a pipe connecting saidair reservoir with one of said rings, said pipe having a pair of branchpipes therein, one of said branch pipes having a check-valve, the otherof said branch pipes having. a cock ,mountedtherein adapted to adjacentsaid reservoir, and a cock mounted in said second pipe adapted to opencommunication from said air chamber through one of said ducts to theatmosphere.

3. In combination, a driving shaft, a driven shaft in alinementtherewith, a case carried by said-driving shaft, .a member carried bysaid driven shaft within said case, ports formed in said case andadapted to admit a fluid, the admission through one of said portsaffording means for producing a relatlve rotation of said case and saidmemher in one direction, the admission through the other of said portsproducing a relative rotation in the opposite direction, a sleeverotatably mounted on said driven shaft and having ducts extendinglongitudinally therein, tubes connecting said ducts respectively withsaid ports, stuffing box rings loosely mounted on said sleeve andcommunicating respectively" with said ducts, and pipes connectingrespectively with said rings and adapted to admit a fluid thereto.

4. In combination, a driving shaft, a driven shaft in alinementtherewith, a case carried by said driving shaft, a member carried bysaid driven'shaft within said case, ports formed in said case'and'adapted to admit a fluid, the admission through one.of said ortsaffording means for producing a relat ve rotation of said case and saidmember in one direction, the admission through the other of said portsproducing a relative rotation in the opposite direction, a sleeverotatably mounted on said driven shaft and having ducts extending lonitudinally therein, tubes connecting said ucts respectively with saidports, stuffing box rings loosely mounted on said sleeve andcommunicating respectively with said ducts, a pipe in communication withone of said rings and adapted to admit a fluid under, pressure thereto,a second pipe in communication with the other of said rings and adaptedto admit a fluid under pressure, and means in said pipes for closing offthe'flow of the fluid under pressure and opening communication fromeither of said ducts to the atmosphere. 5. In combination, a drivingshaft, a driven shaft in alinement therewith, a drum carried by saiddriven shaft, a case carried by said driving shaft, said case forming anan chamber around said-drum, the wall of said case having an abutmenttouching the face of said drum, blades radially guided in said drum andobstructing said air chamber, said case having ports therein adapted 'toadmit air under pressure to said air chamher on either side of saidabutment, a sleeve rotatably mounted on said driven shaft, said sleevehaving a pair of ducts formed there in, means for connecting said ductsrespectiv'ely with said orts, an air reservoir, rings mounted on saisleeve communicating respectively'with said ducts, pipe connectionsbetween said air reservoir and said rings, a check valve in saidpipeconnections permitting air to pass from said sleeve toward said airreservoir, and means in said pipe connections for opening communicationfrom said air reservoir to either of said ducts and adapted to opencommunication between either of said ducts and the atmosphere.

6. A clutch having a case with a circumferentially disposed rim, theinner face of said rim throughout the greater portion of thecircumference thereof being disposed at the same distance from the axisof said case, said rim being formed with an abutment projectinginwardly, a drum rotatably mounted within said case having a facetouching said abutment, said drum being of reduced diameter with respectto said case, whereby an air chamber is' formed thereabout, bladesguided substantially radially in said drum, resilient means behind saidblades holding the outer edges thereof against the inner face of saidrim, said case having ports therein communicating with said air chamberbeyond said abutment whereby said blades are only under side pressurefrom the air when out of contact with said abutment, and means foradmitting air to either of said ports, fixed at a oint removed from saidcase.

7. A clutch of the class described havin a case, a drum rotatablymounted in said case, blades mounted in said drum, means for pressingsaid blades radially outwardly, said case having a rim pressed by theouter edges of said blades, said blades being divided in a radialdirection with respect to the axis of said drum whereby th'ey are formedin sections disposed side by side, and means disposed between saidsections tending to. spread the same laterally apart, said case havinheads against which the side edges of sand blades touch.

8. In combination, a driving shaft, a driven shaft in alinementtherewith, a case carried by said driving shaft and having a brakingface on theouter side thereof, a brake on said braking face adapted tohold said case against rotation, a member carried by said driven shaftwithin said case, ports formed in said case and adapted to admit afluid, the admission through said ports affording means forlproducmg arelative rotation of said case and said member, a fluid reservoir, andmeans for connecting said WILBUR w. PRATHER.

Witnesses:

F. D. AMMEN, V EDMUND A. STRAUSE.

